


A Book of Poems

by Anonymous



Category: The Blacklist (US TV)
Genre: 50 Sentences, F/M, One Word Prompts, is one really good fic, make ressler happy again 2020, my hands slipped, turns out all it took for me to ship them
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:22:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28379190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: It is better than he had always imagined it to be, and worse than every nightmare he ever had.or 50 moments between Ressler and Liz
Relationships: Elizabeth Keen/Donald Ressler
Comments: 2
Kudos: 41
Collections: Anonymous





	A Book of Poems

**Author's Note:**

> 50 moments, some canon, some vaguely canon-ish.
> 
> I don't even know.

_015 Tender_

Her file did not prepare him for how young and bright eyed she looks in person, but he thinks about the venom behind Reddington's charms, and decides that she is probably hiding something.

_023 Irresistible_

Ruffling his feathers is almost too easy; she rattles off a profile she only half believes in, throws in the bit on Asian porn for good measure, and relishes the small vein popping at his temple.

_037 Haunted_

He kneels in front of her and touches her cheek to direct her attention to him; what he sees in her eyes makes his jaw clench, and he doesn't even believe himself when he tells her that she is okay now.

_003 Fading Away_

The grotesque scars on his left thigh would fade after several years, but the image of her kneeling with a gun to her head, eyes wide and defiant and slightly terrified, is branded onto his mind.

_042 Darling_

"She was pregnant," he slurs, eight shots in, and jerks his hand away when Liz reaches for it, "or at least I suspect she was, I'm too much of a coward to find out if she really was."

_001 Mistakes_

He has made numerous mistakes in his life, and he thinks, as he surveys the carnage in her house, his biggest mistake was underestimating Elizabeth Keen. 

_030 Destiny_

She looks at Meera's ashen faced daughters, thinks about Cooper fighting for his life in the hospital, and wonders how she will protect her partner from ever meeting such an end.

_041 Apple_

"Green isn't a good color on you, Keen," he smirks and dodges the pen she throws at him, "don't worry, you're the apple of his eye, Red will never replace you with a Mossad agent."

_026 Stumble_

Her hand tightens around the orange tube of pills as she walks up to him; her chest constricts when he looks up at her, all disheveled and bloodless and red rimmed eyes.

_019 Awareness_

Whatever they pumped into him dulled his senses and made the world spin and tilt, but thankfully, he is still sharp enough to pull her out of the bullet's path.

_047 Afterlife_

A small girl tells him that he will burn in a lake of fire after he dies, and pinned like a bug to a cork board, frustrated and worried to bits about his partner, he replies that he feels like he is already there.

_016 Trouble_

He watches a guilt-ridden Liz fret over her trial, and he thinks he might hate Tom Keen more than he hates Reddington.

_031 Sweet_

As he unpacks the takeout and tells her that they're celebrating, something flutters in her chest, and the things that have been weighing her down lately - Red, Tom, her past - lift off and fly away.

_005 Choose_

He chose to let her run, and every single waking moment after that, he struggles with that choice.

_009 Starlight_

As Red points out the constellations to her, she wonders if it would be easier to just disappear.

_050 Happy Birthday to you_

"I know nothing would make a better gift than me turning myself in, but we both know I'm not going to do that, so here's a crappy voicemail instead: happy birthday, Ress."

_044 By My Side_

"I'm not going anywhere," he declares as he drags a chair to sit guard in front of her cell, and for the first time since he brought her in, the tight ball of anxiety sitting on her sternum uncoils.

_013 Commit_

The words brimming in his throat have been threatening to spill ever since she announced her intention to re-marry Tom; he smiles when she reminds him that she can take care of herself and he tells her that he will be there for her if he can. 

_020 Turn Away_

Reddington clutches onto her limp hand and presses a tender kiss on her temple, and Ressler has to turn away to collect himself as the grief and rage inside him compound and burgeon and threaten to spill out.

_017 Final_

As her coffin is lowered into the ground, he tries to remember her final words to him and wants to bash his head against her headstone when he does not remember. 

_040 Meant No Harm_

"I didn't mean to hurt you, Ress," she says, eyes wide and imploring; he shakes his head and tells her they will leave for DC tomorrow morning.

_029 Involved_

Tom Keen approaches him and even though it grates on his nerves, he relents and allows him to get involved, just so that they can find Agnes faster for Liz's sake.

_027 Fighting_

He caves and apologizes after three weeks of silent treatment, and the relief that rushes in at the sight of her smile really shouldn't feel this gratifying.

_025 Breathing_

She rests a trembling hand on his chest, the memory of him pale and still in a fake hospital bed vivid and overwhelming, and draws little comfort in the hesitant way it rises and falls as she waits for the ambulance to come.

_033 Nightmare_

"This is a fucking nightmare," he growls as he splashes through ankle deep sewer water with Keen clutching tightly onto his arm each time she spots a rat, "tell Reddington he can get his own goons to do his dirty work next time."

_002 Heartfelt_

Red's apology sounded sincere, and she had to stifle her laughter at how rapidly the rage contorting Ressler's face drained into the utter bewilderment and disbelief.

_035 Superstar_

"Donald Ressler represents what's best about this country," she says, wishing she can punch that smug smile off Hitchin's face.

_034 Flat_

"It could be worse," he jokes, in a disastrous attempt to dissipate the murderous aura that had clung to her ever since he tackled the suspect through the shop window and dislocated his shoulder, "I could have gotten cuts all over my pretty face."

_008 Electrify_

His heart jolts as he watches her take down a suspect with little to no effort; his fingertips tingle as he helps her up to her feet.

_006 Immortal_

"Dammit Ress, you are not Superman, stop using your body as a fucking shield!"

_012 Bite_

He pulls her into his arms and tells her that everything is going to be okay, but as he looks at the gory remains that painted the walls, he fears that Tom Keen had finally bitten off more than he could chew.

_007 Open Your Eyes_

"If you could just do us all a favor and open your eyes, Keen, that'd be great," he sighs, resting a careful hand on top of her cold, porcelain one. 

_048 Stranger_

She is a shadow of her former self, and he feels helpless as he tries to talk to her and fails to elicit a response

_039 Everybody_

"Of course you don't know," says Navabi, her tone gleeful and almost affectionate even as he scowls at her, "you'd be the last person in the office to know about your own feelings for Liz."

_022 Hands of Fate_

Fuck fate; she will make her own luck. 

_004 Spirit_

Liz walks into the office with her head held high and even though she is not officially back, he is relieved to see that some of her spirit had returned.

_032 Calling_

He is the first person she thinks of calling as she drags the dead body into the van.

_024 Easy_

He marvels at how easy it is to forgive her time after time, even after she had lied to him and betrayed him and made him grieve for her death.

_014 Fake_

Her life is a mess of half-truths and fake memories and fake husband and fake fathers, and she finds refuge in the one man who lies for her instead of to her.

_010 Sacrifice_

"I don't want you to perjure yourself," she says, biting her lip, and he wants to reach out and tell her that he would do that and more for her but decides to stay silent instead.

_021 Searching_

He tells her that he kept on searching because he feels that he has a right to know, and tamps down on the tiny voice inside him that protests whenever he lies.

_036 Spider Web_

Her heart plunges when she sees the spiderweb cracks on the side window and the blood dripping from it; when he appears next to her, bandage around his head and unsteady on his feet, she grips onto his arm, tighter than necessary, to steer him back to the ambulance.

_038 Rich_

The first time she made him laugh, really _laugh_ , she stood there with her mouth agape for several moments, struck dumb by the rich, foreign sound that tumbled carelessly out of him.

_011 Honor_

"I'm a man of honor, Keen," he huffs as he sits patiently while Agnes gleefully smears glittery goop on his face, wincing as she pokes him in the eye, "she beat me and losers get a makeover."

_043 Name_

He holds no love for his given name, but the first time she says it, a shiver travels down his spine and something tugs at his heartstrings.

_045 Mountains_

He tells her that he will retire to the mountains and live as a hermit with twelve cats if he doesn't die before this task force ends, and grins when she raises an eyebrow and says that she will join him if he keeps dogs instead.

_028 Closing In_

She is finally closing in on the truth and no one, _no one_ will stop her.

_049 Rules_

There are rules that govern his life, and there is Elizabeth Keen.

_046 First Kiss_

It is better than he had always imagined it to be, and worse than every nightmare he ever had. 

_018 Waiting_

He thinks he might spend the rest of his life waiting for her.


End file.
